FREEPORT - Stephenson County's unemployment numbers hovered around 10 percent for the majority of 2013 but local leaders are hopeful that the job market will improve in 2014.

"We have and continue to be busy," said Marci Schubert, branch manager at Furst Staffing in Stockton. "We never saw a drop-off."

The Freeport area had an unemployment percentage as high as 13.1 percent in February. October was the first time in 2013 that employment in Stephenson County topped 21,000 workers and unemployment was 9.8 percent. As of November the rate was again over 10 percent.

"Our numbers have been up since the recession," Schubert said. "But we do a different type of employment so we see a different type of job opening."

Nationwide Inbound Inc. was a bright spot in Freeport in 2013. The company added nearly 40 jobs and was named the No. 18 job creator in Illinois in 2013 by Inc. Magazine as a part of their Hire Power Awards while also placing sixth among private business job creators in the telecom industry in the United States. The company employs around 100 people.

"It's an indication that Brian (Stewart) is very entrepreneurial and very aggressive at growing his business," said Northwest Illinois Development Alliance Executive Director Dave Young. "It's great to see a company making a valuable contribution to the economy."

Young said companies like Nationwide Inbound are good for residents who are unemployed, underemployed or new to the workforce.

"Companies are expanding because of growth in their market or an increase in their product line," Young said. "This company has both. It's great to have it here in Freeport."

According to the Northern Illinois Food Bank, 14.5 percent of residents in Stephenson County live in poverty and the average county wage is $9.16 an hour. Schubert says that she isn't surprised by the numbers.

"I would hope that things improve," Schubert said. "I think the jobs are here. I think that we have to make people understand that they have to start over and growth happens through all of us working together."